Your research is only as good as your input. A vague prompt gives you a vague report. A specific, well-framed prompt gives you insights you can act on today.
The anatomy of a great research prompt
A strong prompt has three elements:
- The problem or opportunity — what pain point are you solving, or what market are you exploring?
- The audience — who specifically would pay for this?
- The context — what do you already know, and what assumptions need testing?
Good prompts vs bad prompts
### ❌ Bad: "AI tool for businesses"
This is too vague. Which businesses? What kind of AI? What problem? proofnest will try its best, but the research will be generic because the input is generic.
### ✅ Good: "AI-powered invoice processing tool for freelance graphic designers who waste 3-5 hours monthly on manual bookkeeping. Competitors include FreshBooks and Wave — I want to know if there's room for a specialized solution."
This gives proofnest everything it needs: a specific problem, a defined audience, known competitors, and a clear question.
### ❌ Bad: "Find me startup ideas"
### ✅ Good: "I'm a solo developer who can build and ship an AI product in 1-2 weeks. I want ideas for tools that solve real problems for e-commerce sellers on Etsy and Shopify — ideally with low competition and clear monetization at $19-49/month."
The second prompt tells Trend Hunter exactly what to look for, what constraints you have, and what success looks like.
Templates you can copy
### For Deep Dive (validating a specific idea):
> "I'm building [product description] for [target audience]. They currently solve this problem by [current solution]. I believe [your hypothesis]. Main competitors I know of: [list]. I need to understand: is there real demand, how crowded is the market, and what would make someone switch."
### For Trend Hunter (discovering opportunities):
> "I'm looking for opportunities in [market/industry] where [constraint — e.g., solo founder, $500 budget, 2-week build time]. I care about [priorities — e.g., recurring revenue, low competition, global market]. Avoid [exclusions — e.g., crypto, healthcare regulated markets]."
Pro tips
Be honest about what you know. If you've already researched competitors, say so. proofnest won't waste time rediscovering what you know — it will go deeper.
State your constraints. Budget, timeline, team size, technical skills — all of these shape which opportunities are realistic for you.
Ask the hard question. Don't just ask "is this a good idea?" Ask "what would kill this idea?" or "why hasn't anyone built this yet?" proofnest's self-challenge layer does this automatically, but framing it in your prompt makes the research even sharper.
Use specific numbers. Instead of "affordable pricing," say "$19-29/month." Instead of "small businesses," say "5-50 employee companies in US/Europe."
One idea per Deep Dive. Don't cram three ideas into one prompt. Each idea deserves its own focused analysis. Use Trend Hunter if you want to explore multiple directions.